"I am fascinated by all things Cromwellian and I often visit the Ely website. The book comes out on Cromwell's 400th anniversary, 25th April 1999"
'Cromwell - An Honourable Enemy'
by Tom Reilly
'This long overdue evaluation of Cromwell's campaign in Ireland, published on the 350th anniversary of that campaign, challenges all conventional interpretations.
Thousands of defenceless men, women and children are alleged to have lost their lives as a result of the 'scorched earth' policy of Oliver Cromwell, who has long been regarded as the most reviled figure in Irish history and who is still generally regarded there as a genocidal maniac and religious fanatic...
Yet, argues Tom, the traditional viewpoint lacks any solid evidence...
Using
only contemporary sources, he examines eye-witness accounts; he also places
Cromwell's conduct within the context of the seventeenth century and the
rules of war then pertaining...
"With an impressive mastery of detail, he marshals the facts
and concludes that Cromwell's appalling reputation appears to be undeserved;
also as the first successful English military conqueror of Ireland, his
emphatic success was a foregone conclusion so inadequate were the royalist
forces in Ireland".
"During Cromwell's Irish mission he proved to be significantly more
compassionate than many of his contempories, and he scrupulously
adhered to the letter of the law of contemporary warfare while communicating
with the various governors of the various garrisons throughout Ireland..!"
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